On how she met longtime friend Nicolas Ghesquière: When I did Vogue’s Alice in Wonderland-themed shoot with Annie Leibovitz [famously depicted in the documentary The September Issue], I desperately wanted to include him. And he made a dress especially for it. After that shooting, we became close friends.

On what she admires most about him: He’s never following a trend; he’s always driving fashion forward. He’s a designer who bravely makes statements he could be dashed for. He’s always bold and always convincing.

On how the collaboration came about: We’d been talking about doing something together for about three years, and when I left Vogue to go freelance, we finally could. It was obvious that it was going to involve cats, but I very much wanted to involve his dog, Léon, too. The collaboration is between Nicolas and me—and here we are personified through our animals, so to speak.

On how she got her cats over the years: There was Brian and Stanley. Then I had Maureen and Doreen. Then Coco, Henri and Baby. Then Puff and Bart, and now Pumpkin and Blanket. I used to go and hang out a lot at the cat show at Madison Square Garden. I met a woman there with three kittens, and that’s where I got Pumpkin, and later I got Blanket from her too.

On having a sense of humor within the world of luxury: I think it’s essential. Otherwise, it can get very stuffy and choke you. There has to be irreverence.